Could a bad temp sensor cause electrical gremlins? And where is it?

JUNKIE2100

MEMBER

1987 CADILLAC SEVILLE

130,000 MILES

My temperature warning light kept coming on randomly, even when the car was off and it seemed to go on and off when I hit bumps, if that went out could it possibly cause a full shorted circuit and fry components in my dash?

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 1:49 AM

35 Replies

CADIEMAN

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Push the off and warmer buttons down on dic. Untill you see all segments light. Now your in the cpu. Push off and high to clear ecm codes. Then push off and low to clear the bcm codes. Cycle the ing. Key then recheck your codes. Write them down and come back. Ty for using 2carpros

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 2:04 AM

JUNKIE2100

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I would but umm, that is part of my issue, there are different codes it likes tho throw at times the latest one is for a transmission sensor I believe, but my dic is out, my gauge cluster LITERALLY went up in smoke(always great when youre trying to get home, and the smell of burning resistors is lovely lol), and I replaced the bcm, and power supply module for the lcds to no avail it blew yet another speedometer

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 2:08 AM

JUNKIE2100

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Basically I just need to know if that sensor, which is probably the cause of the problem with the light flickering and sometimes remaining on when the car is off and not hot at all, is supposed to always have resistance and if it lost all resistance could that fry stuff?

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 2:21 AM

JUNKIE2100

MEMBER

Found a list of codes I wrote down some time ago and I believe I remembered the transmission code it threw though I dont have it written down
Right Oxygen Sensor Not Ready(this one kicks in randomly has for a while)
Transmission Input speed sensor(i believe this is the one that tripped last but I didnt have it written down)
Distributor Signal Interrupt(this was labeled as being in history at one point or another not sure if it was still an issue)
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system Problem(this one kicks my check engine light on after I hit highway speed I suspect just a bad egr)

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 3:58 AM

JUNKIE2100

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Oh and the transmission one seems to have to so ill just say im 99% sure it was an e059 not an e056
an e013 is the oxygen sensor
e048 is egr
and e053 is distributor

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 4:00 AM

CADIEMAN

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You have multiable problems. Stop throwing parts at it. Ive never saw the speedo and the dic both being bad. If you disconnect the dic. The speedo should come on, if no the speedo is bad if yes the dic is bad. If you saw smoke their will be damage. Its one or the other. Follow your nose youll find it. Ty for using 2carpros

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 5:14 PM

JUNKIE2100

MEMBER

The smoke came from the speedometer, actually saw the burnt components, same with the second one I put in, burned components, and the dic climate control still functions I just cant see it but I cant adjust everything and the blowers come on and everything, there was no smoke and I have examined it no signs of damage from what I could tell but all the lights on it are out, and gm crosswired EVERYTHING on the dash with this little black junction box, there are red wires inside it that connect the pins in every which way so it is very likely that certain things must pass through the speedometer to get to the dic, I dunno if you have ever done anything inside the dash of an 87 seville elegante but it is ridiculous and I dont recommend it to my worst enemies lol

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 5:32 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Junction block from hell, this sits in between my radio and my gauges and every warning light, mirror/headlight/cruise control/windshield wiper control, and even the gauge cluster is wired into this then out to wires that run down to god knows where, so one problem could cause countless things

Images (Click to enlarge)

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 5:42 PM

CADIEMAN

MEMBER

The dic is bad then. The speedo heads always burns at the same place. You should have started by replacing the dic. So you can comunicate with the cpu. Did you swap the cpu chip in the bcm?I know of no problems with installing the speedo heads unless the head is bad.

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 6:08 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Well I didnt realize I went for the burning component and replaced that, but it could very well be a bad dic sending improper voltage into the wires which is then distributed to the speedometer and various other components, and yes I did swap the bcm chip so that is not an issue, I just have a backup in case something goes wrong with it, not like I paid for it lol but yea I did however have to buy the replacement speedometer and it fried just like the first one but in a different spot actually, I think it was just the weakest link kind of thing, though all the resistor codes and capacitor farad labels are the same on both clusters the big capacitors on one are coated in orange, the other are coated in black, the 87 board, my original, seems to have higher quality components, the 88 seems to just be kind of slapped together, but yea if it could in fact be the dic causing the cluster to fry that would make sense, thanks for your help you have saved me alot of grief

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 6:34 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Ok well as it turns out, I plugged everything back into the junction and tried to figure something out, well the cps fuse was tripped for whatever reason, and when I tried to replace it it blew, then I disconnected the dic and tried, still blew the fuse, so the central power supply, tho it assume it is not to blame seeing as I replaced it, is in line with the problem, which would certainly explain the issue I am seeing, if that gives off too much voltage it would fry the circuits in the lcd considering it is what powers and regulates the voltage for it, but it doesnt seem to be the dic

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 7:09 PM

CADIEMAN

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Something on that circut is shorted to ground. Its causeing that fuse to blow. Check your harnesses and wires.U need a short tester to track it down.

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 8:47 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Alright, well thanks for your help, unfortunately as you can see pretty much all the circuits are wired together so yea I dont think I will find that short any time soon, I will hopefully figure it out eventually tho

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Thursday, September 8th, 2011 AT 9:02 PM

CADIEMAN

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If you would like info on trace a short. Im here dont just give up! Ty for using 2carpros

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 4:53 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Well I mean I got the multimeter out and ive noticed a few things, the light for my security stays solid tho the negative connection for it is in fact cutting on and off to create the flashing. So theres one clue, but thats plugged into my junction from hell so lord only knows where that short comes from, and it seems to be effecting the remote wire to my stereo as well, which isnt connected to that same junction, I checked all my non factory wiring unhooked it all and it still has a short so altho it could be the factory amps I doubt it but its in that line somewhere I believe, the always on 12v seems to be fine but the remote wire gives me problems at times and it seems to have a ground short with only 65 ohms resistance, tho the factory amps and speakers run at 1ohm I would figure it should still have more resistance than that but if that is normal it wouldnt surprise me much either

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 5:21 PM

CADIEMAN

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You need to buy a short tracing tool. Youll need to hook the breaker to the fuse. Its also comes with a gauge that reads wire surge. You lay it on the harness when the breaker blows it sends a ping. And the gauge shows direction to go. When it shakes violanty the short is their. You gotta start some where cps fuse is important. Ty for using 2carpros

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 7:15 PM

JUNKIE2100

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The problem is the wires are all together and connected to eachother, I dont see that helping and I cant afford any tools or anything anymore right now, but I mean obviously there is a short connected somewhere in my dash but I mean hell there are about 50 wires and they are all wrapped together in a big ass bundle. They all plug into the same thing, 4 harnesses into that box, interconnected, screwing with me, and for it to be effecting my remote wire as well it has to be deep in the system, because that isnt on the same harness as everything else that is blowing

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 7:32 PM

JUNKIE2100

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Im thinking there is a short in one of the main lines run from the engine compartment into the inside of the car, not THE main line obviously but one of the more important ones im sure. Im gonna check my ground wires that go onto the stud for my alternator and follow a possible lead I figured out, it all started when I was messing with my vacuum modulator, and there is this set of wires that runs ON the exhaust manifold just before connecting to the pipe, it has a heat sheild around it which isnt damaged but A the wires inside might not have been so lucky, and B it would have gotten jiggled around as I messed with the modulator

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 7:35 PM

JUNKIE2100

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What all does the cps do though other than provide power to the lcds? Because I actually can drive it I just dont have any gauges or warning lights, past that I can still use the headlights even in auto mode tho the light sensor doesnt function to turn them off in the light, wipers, and mirror controls still work fine, its just the digital readouts and the warning lights that are giving me issues as far as I can tell, that and my amp doesnt like to turn on all the time anymore but I unwired that anyway for the time being

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Saturday, September 10th, 2011 AT 7:44 PM

CADIEMAN

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The central power supply controls all that. Unplug the cps does the fuse blow?